Districts Can File Claims for Special Ed Funds

School districts that believe the state owes them money for special education services provided over the last 20 years can now file a claim with the state.

State Controller Kathleen Connell has forms available on her office’s Internet site, https://www.sco.ca.gov.

Districts have until Dec. 5 to submit claims to be reimbursed by the state for eight special education programs that they believe were not given sufficient state funds since 1980.

School districts have contended for two decades that the state has not given them enough money for special education services the state has required them to provide. The issue has been debated in the courts and several state agencies.

The Commission on State Mandates, a state agency that handles such claims by local agencies for state funding, gave districts and Gov. Gray Davis several months to negotiate a compromise, but they were unsuccessful.

Davis, like governors before him, maintains that the state has given districts enough special education funds to cover the required programs.

The commission in June voted to allow the districts to start submitting claims.

However, once the claims are submitted, the Legislature still would have to pass a bill appropriating the money and Davis would have to sign the legislation for districts to receive any funds.